Anderson Hernandez Is One In A Hundred.
According to the baseball writers of the USA TODAY Sports Weekly, of the top "100 Names You Need to Know", in Major League Baseball, only one is a Washington National, that being, infielder Anderson Hernandez, who's 33rd on their list, and is expected to start at second base for DC in 2009. Acquired last season from New York's Mets in exchange for reliever Luis Ayala, Hernandez, as the uncredited Sports Weekly writers note, "...impressed the Nationals enough to make Emilio Bonifacio expendable," but the USA Today staff writes that, "[Hernandez's] true hitting ability remains a mystery," since he's hit over .300 in the Minors and hit closer to .200 in the Majors so far in his career...
(ed. note - "I even scanned the USA TODAY list for former Nationals/Expos, and couldn't even find a single name I recognized from the franchise...Anyone else spot one I missed?")
Has Anderson Hernandez impressed enough to make Ronnie Belliard expendable? The writers at Baseball Prospectus.com seem to think so, as they suggest, in a recent article entitled, "Triple Fix: American League", that Oakland A's GM Billy Beane, "...might see if the Nationals would move Ronnie Belliard," who, they predict, will hit at a ".270/.339/.428 clip" in 2009 according to their "park neutral" projections...
Both Hernandez and Belliard are currently representing the Dominican Republic with the Dominican Winter League Champions, the Tigres del Licey in the Caribbean Series, and tonight they're playing the Mexican entry in the Series, the Mazatlan Venados...but they lost power at the Stadium, and they haven't come back as of 12:14 pm EST...Mazatlan leads 8-6 at the moment. Anderson Hernandez in 0 for 1 with 2 walks and a run scored. Ronnie Belliard 1 for 3 with a K. Jorge Sosa, another free agent who signed with DC this winter, started for Licey but was out after 4.1 IP, having allowed 10 hits, 8 runs (5 ER) and 2 walks...check HERE to see if they ever finished the game...
Some More Minor League Free Agents Added By DC...
Add infielder Alex Cintron and catcher Javier Valentin to the Washington roster after the Nationals signed both free agents Tuesday. DC has already inked catchers Javy Herrera and Gustavo Molina, and infielders Freddie Bynum, Jose Castillo, Brad Eldred, Joel Guzman, Pete Orr and Matt Whitney. Outfielders? Corey Patterson, Alex Escobar, Ryan Langerhans, Jorge Padilla and Mike Vento, and pitchers Bobby Brownlie, Gustavo Chacin, Jesus Colome, Justin Jones, Preston Larrison, Wilfredo Ledezma, J.D. Martin, Jorge Sosa, Josh Towers and Ryan Wagner all signed to Minor League contracts already this offseason. Am I missing anyone?
(ed. note - "Federal Baseball.com Hits The Road...")
I want answers. So I'm heading down to the nation's capital for the next two days to get a close look at what the Washington Nationals are doing...I doubt I'll find what I'm looking for, but it gives anyone with something to get off their chest a chance to write a FANPOST here at federalbaseball.com to be featured while I post less frequently the next two days...Do you think the Nationals will add anyone else to their roster? Will Nick Johnson play anywhere close to a full season? Do you want to see Adam Dunn in a curly-W cap? Who's got something to say?